My phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen.
Justice.
Thank God.
“Hold on, baby. I gotta take this.” I stepped into the hallway and answered. “What’s good?”
“Yo, I need you at the warehouse.” Justice’s voice was tight and urgent. “Emergency situation. Can’t explain over the phone.”
“Which warehouse?”
“The one off Miller Road. You know the spot.”
I knew the spot. They used it for storage back in the day. It was a quiet location, no neighbors, no cameras. Good place to handle business that didn’t need witnesses.
“What kind of emergency?” I asked.
“Just get here. Fast.”
The line went dead.
I stood there for a second, processing. Justice didn’t call me for shit usually. We weren’t tight like that. I was more close to Quest and Prime. If I had to rank them it would be Quest, Prime, then Justice. Justice was always busy and cold. Hyper-focused on his daughters. But if he was reaching out, it had to be serious.
Whatever. At least it got me out of this apartment.
I walked back into the bedroom. Mehar was still curled up under the covers, looking pitiful.
“Baby, I gotta go. Family emergency.”
Her face fell. “What? Now?”
“Justice needs me at one of the warehouses. Something came up.” I was already grabbing my keys, my jacket. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Is everything okay?”
“I’m sure it’s fine. Probably just some business shit.” I leaned down and kissed her forehead again. “Get some rest. Take some medicine for that stomach. I’ll bring you soup on my way back.”
She smiled weakly. “You’re too good to me.”
“I know.” I winked and headed for the door. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
The words tasted like cardboard in my mouth, but I said them anyway.
The drive to the warehouse took about twenty minutes. I spent most of it thinking about how much longer I wanted to keep this thing with Mehar going. She was sexy and fun. But the constant emotional maintenance was wearing thin.
Maybe another month or two. Then I’d find a reason to end it. Tell her I wasn’t ready for something serious. Let her down easy so she didn’t go running to Prime with some sob story about how I broke her heart.
I pulled up to the warehouse and parked next to Justice’s Range Rover. The building was dark, just one light on somewhere deep inside. I grabbed my piece from the glove compartment, never walked into a situation unarmed, and headed for the entrance.
“Justice?” I called out, pushing through the side door. “Yo, where you at?”
Silence.
The hallway was dim, concrete floors, that industrial smell of oil and rust. I kept my hand near my waist, fingers brushing the grip of my gun.
“Justice? You in here?”
